A novel of class conflict in 19th century England, featuring a butler who advises a nouveau riche on how to be a gentleman. The upstart is Samuel Fairbrother, owner of a boot factory who buys a mansion, but doesn't know how to dress, eat or receive. To his consternation, his daughter falls in love with the butler. By the author of The Obsession.

Widowed and determined to protect her two children from the evil that awaits their return from Texas, Tilly Trotter reestablishes herself as lady of the manor under the belief that she has loved for the last time.